Kaya Henderson allowed deputy mayor Courtney Snowden’s son to transfer to Capitol Hill Montessori at Logan (Photo via Facebook)
The D.C. inspector general recently completed an investigation into misconduct by former D.C. Public Schools chancellor Kaya Henderson, in which the office says she gave special treatment to some parents who wanted their children to attend schools that they weren’t admitted to through the My School DC lottery process.
Courtney Snowden, deputy mayor for greater economic opportunity, is one of seven parents who the IG’s office investigated, The Washington Post reports. Henderson allowed Snowden, a Deanwood resident, to transfer her son to the highly regarded Capitol Hill Montessori at Logan during the 2015-2016 school year.
At Large Councilmember David Grosso, chair of the education committee, told The Post that he learned from the IG that the probe involved three government employees, including Snowden, another person appointed by Mayor Muriel Bowser, and a principal. He said there was also a former D.C. elected official, the head of a nonprofit that works with DCPS, a former Obama staffer, and a former classmate of Henderson.
A letter that the IG’s office sent to the D.C. Council says that between April and August 2015, Henderson “failed to act impartially and gave preferential treatment” to some D.C. government officials and others when granting “discretionary out-of-bound-school transfers.”
The letter did not give the names of the parents who were part of the investigation, and it did not say if it was determined that all of the parents in the case were given special treatment.
The IG’s office referred the investigation “and corresponding recommendation” to Mayor Bowser, who appointed Snowden as deputy mayor in April 2015.
Bowser spokesperson, Kevin Harris, said in an emailed statement to DCist that all D.C. parents have the right to petition the chancellor for a waiver “as the chancellor is in the best position to make decisions about kids and families when they face a particular challenge.”
Sources told The Post that investigators learned Snowden planned to “bypass normal channels to ensure that her child got a seat in a desirable school,” and she “boasted of her personal relationship with Henderson.”
But Harris says that Snowden requested the waiver in a legal manner, doing “what any parent would do by pursuing every available option to assist her child.” He said that the request was made and approved under proper protocol.
Henderson announced that she was stepping down as chancellor last June, and she officially left in September. Two months later, Henderson was censured by D.C.’s ethics board for soliciting donations from a DCPS contractor.
After learning about the preferential treatment allegations last month, Henderson said in a statement that she “made a very limited number of discretionary placements for students when extraordinary circumstances applied,” according to The Post.
The IG’s letter stated that D.C.’s deputy mayor for education has advised Henderson’s successor, Antwan Wilson, on the use of his authority, explaining that “it is very limited, and must be used in an impartial manner, taking care not to show favoritism.”
D.C. Inspector General’s Investigation Letter by Christina Sturdivant on Scribd
